When Black Friday Comes, I'll Collect Everything I'm Owed

For a brief moment, we considered getting up early to check out the Black Friday scene -- and Steely Dan's as far as we got. (And, for those in actual need of actual information, this compendium of online sales, sales, sales!) But former Observer-er Ann Zimmerman, now at The Wall Street Journal, has been out and about since dark-thirty contributing Dallas details to the paper's Holiday Sales Blog (catchy title!); looks like the Wal-Marts were jammed in the wee small hours, if nothing else. (Really, Blu-ray players for $128? Quite the deal. Still, though, 3 in the morning?) Notes Ann: "Contrary to public opinion, the American consumer is not dead, but cautious." Also: sleepy. --Robert Wilonsky